That sweet-and-sour taste of homesickness, do you still remember it?

My name is Mingzhi, based in Shenzhen, working in the IT industry.

After a busy day of work, night had already fallen and the lights were coming on,

after sitting in front of the computer all day I deliberately got off two stops early and walked home.

Walking along the road, gusts of breeze blew, and the air carried a faint fragrance of flowers and grass,

I suddenly realized that summer had come.

The summer in my childhood memories

had the fun of catching fish in the river

and the joy of counting stars at night

and the delight of climbing trees to pick Chinese bayberries (yangmei)

After all these years away from home, I have never been able to forget that one bite of sweet-and-sour taste.

In the courtyard of my hometown, there was a Chinese bayberry (yangmei) tree

It was planted by my grandfather's own hands back then

and it was also my grandfather's beloved treasure

Every year in early summer, the Chinese bayberry (yangmei) tree was covered with yangmei

At first the yangmei were green, then slowly turned yellow, then red

When the yangmei were fully ripe, their color was so red it turned purple,

shining brightly under the sunlight, making my mouth water at the sight

Before the yangmei were even fully ripe, I could no longer hold myself back

I would secretly climb the yangmei tree and pick them to eat

The unripe yangmei were both sour and astringent, not tasty at all, yet I ate them with great relish

When my grandfather caught me sneaking unripe yangmei, he would grab a stick and come after me

But every time he only made a show of it, and the stick never once landed on me

After the yangmei were completely ripe, my grandfather would choose an auspicious day to pick them

Dad and Mom brought a long ladder and climbed up the tree

while we stood under the tree, smiling as we looked up at them

A full basket of perfectly ripe red yangmei made my eyes light up

We called the neighborhood kids over to taste them together

Take one and put it in your mouth: sweet without being cloying, sweetness with a hint of sourness

Refreshing and crisp, once you eat one you want more

Thinking of this, the tip of my tongue couldn't help but tingle slightly with sourness, and saliva filled my mouth

Grandfather must be waiting for me to come home under the yangmei tree, just as always

Jingzhou yangmei are about to ripen

One Jingzhou yangmei, sweet and sour, eases homesickness